Balance Training Products

Balance Training Tips For Larger Exercisers

Balance training is important no matter what your size or shape. Some plus size exercisers may be intimidated by balance training on a fitness ball, but plus size exercise for balance can include an exercise workout such as Pilates.

In fact, Pilates is a great form of balance training for plus-sized exercisers because many exercises are done sitting on a mat. There’s minimal stress on the joints, but the core muscles of the body are working hard.

Plus-sized exercisers can get as much benefit from Pilates as anyone else. Some other points about plus-sized Pilates:

• Don’t be intimidated. Not everyone in a Pilates class is an elite athlete, by any means.
• Modify as needed. Pilates exercises can be modified based on your fitness level, so you can increase the intensity of the exercises gradually as you get stronger.
• Try a machine. There’s no reason why plus-sized exercisers can’t use Pilates machines as part of an exercise workout program, just be sure you are working with a certified instructor.

Advanced Balance Training

If you are comfortable with beginning balance exercises, you may be ready for more advanced balance challenges using a balance disc. A balance disc is a flexible circular cushion, usually about 14-15 inches in diameter. Many discs, such as the FitBALL® Balance Disc, can be inflated or deflated to suit different fitness levels.

You can add a balance disc to your exercise program easily. Here’s how to start:

• Stand behind a sturdy chair or table or near a wall for support.
• Step onto the center of the disc with your right foot.
• Holding on for support, lift your left foot about one foot off the ground, and notice how your core muscles engage to help you keep your balance.
• If possible, let go of the support and balance on the disc on one leg. Try to hold for five seconds, and then step off the disc. Repeat with the other leg.

Ball Therapy for Backs and Balance

Lower back pain is a common complaint. If you add some balance training products and exercises to your exercise workout, you can stretch and strengthen your lower back and reduce your risk of serious back problems. A strong back will contribute to better balance and straighter posture.

You can stretch your back by simply lying across a stability ball with your feet flat on the floor and your arms extended over your head. Try an exercise ball DVD for more ideas.

Other types of ball therapy can help improve balance. This simple exercise is a good introduction to stability ball workouts:

• Sit on a large workout ball with feet flat on the floor.
• Keep your knees still and rock your hips from side to side.
• Hold for a second or two on each side; you should feel a stretch.
• Rotate your hips forward and backward, pausing for a second or two after each rotation.

Birthing Balls Support Expectant Moms

If you are pregnant and approaching your due date, you may hear about “birthing balls.” A birthing ball is just a pregnancy-themed term for a large stability ball, but these therapy balls are becoming more common as tools to make women more comfortable during labor.

Ways to use a stability ball during labor include:

• Sitting on the ball with your feet shoulder width apart to take some pressure off your lower back.
• Kneeling on the floor (preferably on a rug to give your knees a break) and lean forward onto the ball, resting your head and arms on the ball. This position is conducive to back rubs, or you can roll the ball slightly to stretch your back.

Therapy Balls Get Rehab on a Roll

Large fitness balls (usually ranging from 45 cm to 65 cm in diameter) are also known as therapy balls. These versatile products have become popular among physical therapists as well as personal trainers to help improve balance and promote core strength.

One element of physical therapy involves putting muscles through the range of motion needed for the activities of daily living. Try this twisting exercise on a therapy ball (also called a body ball) to encourage several different muscle groups to interact. You’ll feel your glutes and abs, as well as your shoulders. This move can be part of a regular exercise program for balance, as well as part of a physical therapy program.

• Place a therapy ball under your shoulders with your feet flat on the floor.
• Extend both arms straight up toward the ceiling.
• Keeping your arms straight, twist your torso to the left, until both arms are close to parallel to the floor. Keep your arms straight.
• Raise your arms back to the center and twist to the other side.

Save Money with an At-Home Yoga Practice

If you are looking to cut costs without cutting back on your exercise program, consider buying yoga props to use at home, instead of paying for expensive classes at a pricey gym.

With the right equipment and guidance, such as a yoga DVD or an exercise ball DVD, you can get a workout that will improve your strength, balance, and flexibility without having to leave the house.

Here are the basics you need:

• Yoga mat: You can do yoga without a mat, but it provides traction and stability to help you get the most from your poses. You can buy mats for about $20.
• Strap: Some DVDs direct you to use a strap to help with stretching.
• Block: Blocks can help you get more extension in poses such as triangle.
• Yoga ball: A large stability ball is sometimes called a yoga ball. You can buy a yoga ball from online retailers. Traditional yoga classes don’t often use a stability ball, but some exercise ball DVDs include elements of yoga in their exercise programs.

Safety Tips for Fitness Balls

When using a fitness ball for ball therapy or for a workout, it’s important to keep some basic safety tips in mind.

• Watch how you roll. This almost goes without saying, but when doing your exercise workout at the gym, make sure you aren’t going to hit any machines or any of your fellow exercisers as you roll around on a body ball.
• Know what to do. If you are new to exercises on a fitness ball, ask for help to be sure that you have the correct technique. Choose a fitness ball book or exercise ball DVD to get the most from your ball workout.
• Know to go slow. Stability ball exercises use many muscles at once, and you may feel tired sooner than doing the same exercises without the ball. Start slowly and increase your number of repetitions as you adjust to the extra balance challenge.
• Know when to stop. Don’t keep using an exercise ball if you are experiencing pain in your back or limbs.
  
  

Fitness Balls Lead to Better Lifting

A large fitness ball, also known as a physical therapy ball, can be used to help people with lower back pain find relief and may prevent the problem from recurring.

Improper lifting technique is one of the main causes of lower back pain. An exercise program with a stability ball can help you develop the proper body mechanics and stability that can prevent lower back pain when lifting.

Try this simple exercise to strengthen the lower back:

• Place a large physical therapy ball between your lower back and the wall.
• Place your feet about shoulder width apart, 1-2 feet in front of your waist.
• Place your hands on your hips and bend your knees, coming into a squat. Try not to push your back into the exercise ball as you roll down the wall.
• Hold the squat for a few seconds, and then return to a standing position.
• NOTE: If your knees extend past your toes, move your feet farther from the wall and try the squat again.

Mini Med Balls Yield Maximum Benefits

Small medicine balls, such as the FitBALL® Mini Med ball, are often under-appreciated as strength training products, but these small balls pack a big fitness punch. Read on to find out why you should add mini med ball exercises to your exercise program.

• Build strength. You can find a mini med ball in weights up to about 12 pounds. That may not sound like much, but after you have been swinging the ball around for a while, you will feel it in your core muscles as well as your upper body.
• Work hard. Mini med balls are among the most durable pieces of fitness equipment. Throw a mini med ball against a wall and it keeps its shape.
• Save space. Mini med balls don’t take up as much room as a bar with weights, so they lend themselves to home exercise. They can roll easily under the bed or into the closet.
  

Step In Time: Medicine Ball Step and Twist

A mini med ball can be used to add intensity to a balance training workout. The medicine ball step and twist is a great warm-up to a balance exercise workout because it engages all the major muscle groups. This exercise also can be done after a cardio exercise program.

• Stand in front of a bench or step.
• Hold a mini med ball against your chest using both hands.
• Step up onto the step with your right foot. Raise your left knee so you are balancing on the right foot.
• Extend your arms, and twist to the left, bending your elbows slightly so your arms cross the thigh of your raised leg.
• Carefully return to center and step down.
• Repeat as desired, alternating legs.
• Note: You can adjust the height of the step according to your fitness level. The higher the step, the greater the workout for the hamstrings and gluteal muscles. If you are new to balance training, start with a step that’s only a few inches from the floor, and work your way up.

Got Computer Chest? Try Medicine Ball Pull-Overs

Tightness in the chest is a common side effect of working at a computer all day. When you get away from the screen for your choice of exercise workout programs, try a medicine ball pull-over. This exercise uses a large stability ball and a mini med ball to open your chest by stretching your triceps and working your shoulder muscles (latissimus dorsi).

Try this move at home or at the gym:

• Start by lying across a large stability ball, holding a mini med ball in both hands at chest level. Allow your head and shoulders to drape down over the ball.
• Keeping your elbows in close to your body, keep your arms slightly bent and lower the mini med ball over your head toward the floor.
• Engage your chest and triceps as you bring the ball back over your head to your chest.
• Keep your head, neck, and shoulders relaxed against the stability ball.
• Repeat as desired. Start with a light weight mini med ball to get your form right, then progress to a heavier ball as you get stronger.

Build Better Balance with a Fitness Ball Plank

A standard plank pose promotes core strength, but doing a plank pose on a fitness ball adds instability for a truly intense core challenge. Don’t add this move to your exercise program if you are new to using a workout ball. Proper technique is important. If your lower back acts up when trying this exercise, back off or reduce the intensity. Or try the fitness ball plank on a ball that isn’t fully inflated, and increase the firmness of the ball as you get stronger.

• Start by placing your forearms on a large stability ball, with your legs extended behind you in a plank position, with the toes curled under.
• Hold the plank position, making fists with your hands and keeping as much of your forearms (elbows to wrists) on the ball as you can.
• Make it harder: Raise the wrists and forearms so you are balancing on your elbows.
• Not hard enough? Alternate lifting one foot off the floor, or alternate lifting each leg up and slightly to the outside.

Exercise Balls Boost Total Body Fitness

You can do just a few exercises, or an entire series, on a fitness ball and you’ll get a total body workout because any stability ball exercise engages multiple muscle groups. Ask a personal trainer for ways to add fitness ball exercises to your exercise program, or check out an exercise ball DVD for ideas.

Stability ball exercise workout programs can fall into three categories:

• Stability ball only. Some stretching exercises (such as lower back stretches) can be deeper when performed on a stability ball.
• Stability ball plus body weight. Exercises that involve body weight (such as push-ups) are made tougher using a fitness ball.
• Stability balls and gym equipment. Some exercises using gym equipment (such as bicep curls with hand weights) are more challenging when you are sitting on a fitness ball.

Stability Ball Saw Opens Hips

If your hips are tight, try this seated rotation on a stability ball. It’s a great way to relieve stress in the lower back, too. If you are familiar with Pilates, this move is similar to the “Saw.” Try adding it to any exercise workout programs, or at any time.

• Sit on the stability ball with your legs extended in front of you, with your feet pointing toward the ceiling.
• Keep your back straight as you lean forward from the hips, extending your arms in front of you.
• Rotate your torso and reach your left hand toward your right foot.
• Return to the center and reach your right hand toward your left foot.
• Concentrate on keeping your spine as straight as possible.
• Repeat 8-10 times on each side.

Keep the Midline in Front of Your Mind

Building core strength is one of the best ways to improve your balance and posture. When you do core strength exercises as part of a yoga exercise program or using a stability ball, you are engaging the muscles in the middle of the body.

Concentrate on pulling the muscles of your arms and legs toward the midline of the body when you perform a balance exercise on a workout ball (such as a plank pike), or engage in ball therapy to recovery from an injury.

Pulling your body in to the midline engages the abdominal muscles, and helps you stay stable in your balance exercise.

Remember that your abs are just like any other muscle—you shouldn’t work them with the same exercises every day. They need some rest to get stronger.

The best way to strengthen your core and abs is to include a mix of abdominal and core exercises in your exercise program. Try some exercises on a fitness ball, or go to an ashtanga yoga class, which focuses on building core strength in many of its standing poses.

Postnatal Fitness: Get Back in Balance

A fitness ball is sometimes called a “birthing ball” when it is used to help women stay more comfortable during labor. After delivery, the birthing ball can become a workout ball again.

If you have just had a baby, exercise may be the last thing on your mind, or you may be eager to get back into shape. Postpartum exercise can, believe it or not, boost your energy level. Postnatal exercise can also help relieve stress, and it can help you lose the baby weight.

Fitness ball exercises are great choices for women who are easing back into shape after delivery. The fitness ball that worked for crunches once you passed the first trimester of pregnancy can serve you again in your postpartum workout. It’s important to avoid intense abdominal exercises too soon after delivery, but simply sitting on a fitness ball can engage your core muscles without putting pressure on your lower back. Sitting on the ball will help you re-learn to balance with a post-pregnancy center of gravity, and it will build strength and coordination.